Publisher: United Nations, September 2000
Status – CURRENT
The United Nations Millennium Declaration commits world leaders to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination against women. The MDGs, erived from this, comprise eight goals that all 191 UN Member States have agreed to achieve by the year 2015
Publisher: United Nations. Fourth World Conference on Women, 1995
Status – CURRENT
The Platform for Action is an agenda for women’s empowerment. It aims at … removing all the obstacles to women’s active participation in all spheres of public and private life through a full and equalshare in economic, social, cultural and political decision-making. This means that the principle of shared power and responsibility should be established between women and men at home, in the workplace and in the wider national and international communities. Equality between women and men is a matter of human rights and a condition for social justice and is also a necessary and fundamental prerequisite for equality, development and peace. A transformed partnership based on equality between women and men is a condition for people-centred sustainable development. A sustained and long-term commitment isessential, so that women and men can work together for themselves, for their children and for society to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.
Publisher: UN General Assembly, 1979
Status – CURRENT
The Convention provides the basis for realizing equality between women and men through ensuring women’s equal access to, and equal opportunities in, political and public life — including the right to vote and to stand for election — as well as education, health and employment. States parties agree to take all appropriate measures, including legislation and temporary special measures, so that women can enjoy all their human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Convention is the only human rights treaty which affirms the reproductive rights of women and targets culture and tradition as influential forces shaping gender roles and family relations. It affirms women’s rights to acquire, change or retain their nationality and the nationality of their children. States parties also agree to take appropriate measures against all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of women. Countries that have ratified or acceded to the Convention are legally bound to put its provisions into practice. They are also committed to submit national reports, at least every four years, on measures they have taken to comply with their treaty obligations.